Welcome to the party ! If you need any advice you have come to the right place. The show at the Midland will be good. Best wishes. Noel.

Welcome!

If you need any advice, just ask, it is sure to be available.

You can learn a lot just by reading other posts on various parts of the forum.

If you are a complete newbie, buy at least one book on using a lathe.

Stan Bray “Basic Lathework” No.45 in the Workshop Practice Series, or Harold Hall, ” Lathework, A Complete Course” 34 in WPS.

L H Sparey “The Amateur’s Lathe” used to be the “Bible”, but is old and mainly dealt with the Myford ML7 (Although the basic principles are the same for any lathe)

When you get your lathe, spend time becoming familiar with it, then start cutting metal.

Make your mistakes on relatively cheap mild steel rather than on on some expensive casting or some item that you cannot replace.

Making simple tools, will be a help.

Remember the need to for the tool to be on the centre height! And that even a good 3 jaw chuck is unlikely to hold work concentric better than 0.037 mm

Don’t rush.

If you haven’t chosen your lathe yet, think of what you intend to do with it, and think about getting one a little larger. Your horizons will expand when you find just how versatile a lathe is!

Allow in the budget, for buying measuring equipment and extras, like drills and lathe tools.

The Show will show you what is available, and what can be produced as you gain experience.

Howard

Welcome to a fellow Taf!

Lots of friendly and very helpful folk here 👍🍻